Teachers of Significance

Nudging groups toward becoming high-functioning teams. We want our students to invest in their classroom relationships. Veteran teachers have often seen groups that “gel” in that special way to become a team that is highly functional and synergistic--and fun! Students leave these groups feeling fed by the social interaction, and the work that they produce is often much stronger than it would have been if the student were acting solo. Positive Interdependence. The question remains, though, about how to get students (and adults, for that matter!) to invest in their groups and to have high expectations for the group. How do we get students to care? According to the research of David and Roger Johnson, there are at least 5-6 factors that can move a group toward synergy. The most overlooked, in my experience as a teacher and instructional coach, is that of Positive Interdependence . Some examples:  Positive Goal Interdependence  Positive Resource Interdependence  Positive Rol